BLOOMINGTON -- A. Renee, a wine and gift boutique in downtown Bloomington, will more than double in size by fall.

The 1,200-square-foot store at 306 N. Center St., which already offers gourmet foods, chocolates, candles, linens and wine glasses, will add another 1,500 square feet for a wine cafe.

"It will be a place for adults to escape," said Amy Calhoun, co-owner, adding that the cafe will offer wine tasting as well as wine by the glass and bottle, cocktails, gourmet finger food, coffee and tea.

The cafe will be lit by candles and have a piano.

Calhoun, who opened A. Renee about 5½ years ago, believes the wine cafe will fill a niche. "There's nothing out there like this," she said.

Work on the wine cafe, which will include cutting a hole in a wall, will begin in July and is expected to cost about $50,000. "Hopefully it will be open in early September," she said, adding that there is not an exact date for the opening.

Calhoun, who said A. Renee takes its name after her first and middle names, offers 275 varieties of wine from across the globe ranging in price from $7 to $225, with the average bottle costing about $14.

While the store is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, the wine cafe hours will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Calhoun said shop hours might be extended somewhat after the cafe opens.

Calhoun said she is proceeding with the expansion despite the recession because "downtown has an incredible energy now."